Leg 2 team in Arran

Sea Dragon In a Lock on Caledonian Canal

Deploying the Manta Trawl in Loch Ness

Hi everyone
I've had to escape to a pub to update you - in Inverness.  We've just spent two days traveling the Caledonian canal from Fort William to Inverness, lovely and still, beautiful views, we did lots of science sampling for micro and nano plastics - found some big plastic and micro plastic - nano plastic is too small to see so those samples will be sent away to be investigated.

It was pretty rough again from Arran to Fort William, so many casualties as round Lands End, but enough, including me.  Again I was better up on deck at the helm riding the swells.  We saw some porpoises and stunning views of the western islands, Mull, Islay etc, names I have heard of but never been.

I've been doing loads of talking and handing out my business cards along the canal - just opened my emails and found a photo of Sea Dragon on Loch Ness sent by another boater who passed us - but my laptop is failing to download it.

I was on cook duty today so was below deck cooking up a storm - red rice salad and kale salad with tahini dressing for lunch, and Dutch mash with carrots, onion and kale + beans in an Italian sauce + stir fried lettuce + quinoa with pesto for dinner.  Yes lots of kale, cos it doesn't keep long, and cooked lettuce because the fridge froze the lettuce.  My cook partners on both legs haven't enjoyed cooking, so we've had a great partnership, I cook, and they wash up - not my favourite task.  We have a 5 day rota, cooking, toilets (called the Heads), engineer (checking mechanical stuff), navigation (hourly log), deck check (for safety) and science.

I'm learning a lot about sailing, names of ropes and what they do etc - and there are a lot on this boat. I love it.

Arran Co-op delivering our fresh groceries for leg 2 - with their own Exxpedition Banner!! 

Me litter picking in Lamlash Bay with Sea Dragon and Holy Island behind

Plastic Tideline in Arran Lifeboat Station in preparation for High School Students doing some Sea Plastic Art

Amy and Ella Meek beach cleaning in Lamlash Bay with Sea Dragon on Water

Dawn in Lamlash Bay, Arran - I was on Anchor watch

Getting a ride to shore

The Channel 5 feature

If you haven't seen this video yet............it's all over Facebook and Twitter

I'm writing this from Arran where we've had a day working with the high school children, doing science and art with sea plastic, and a litter pick on a beautiful beach which wasn't that dirty except for a lot of disgusting wet wipes - PS they don't biodegrade - don't put them down the toilet.

We also said goodbye to 8 women who were on leg 1, and hello to 8 new women, I'm in the pub waiting for our story telling event where we all meet together.  Tomorrow the new women will be inducted into the boat and we set sail in the afternoon.  However, there is a change of plans......

Hurricane Gert, currently off Florida is heading to Scotland as 40 knot winds just as we are due to sail to Stornoway.  Not good, especially with 8 new crew.  We wouldn't be able to do any science either.  So we are now heading for Fort William and sailing up the Caledonian canal to Inverness and then south to Edinburgh.  It's a bit disappointing not to be circumnavigating the entire UK coastline, however, I'm sure this will bring us unforeseen opportunities and its should be beautiful - and we might swim with Nessie.

Over and out

We Met Up with Wayne Dixon and Koda in Cardiff
They're walking UK coastline litter picking

Doing Science
Attaching a valve into the hose for pumping up sea water to test for nano plastics

Leg 1 Team

Marine Litter Collected on Beach near Belfast

Rainbow

So today we've been in the world famous Dock Cafe on Belfast Marina - famous because it is a multi-faith run community cafe, where people pay what they feel.

We've had a science table, looking to at micro plastics, an art table, creating installations with the litter collected yesterday evening from a local beach clean - 55 bags collected in 90 minutes from a very narrow, short beach.  The collection included dozens of plastic ducks from a duck race, see above.

For me using art to raise awareness of the issue of marine plastic is very powerful; people see something that looks colourful, almost attractive, it appeals to the senses, can sometimes look beautiful, AND then it clicks that it's rubbish that was littering a beautiful sea shore, and had been in the sea, doing nothing at best and killing sea life at worst.  There is an emotional confusion, a discombobulation of the intellect.  How can something that I just experienced as being pleasant suddenly be so upsetting.  This makes us stop and think, and the memory lasts, hopefully causing us to question the next time we buy something that will end up being thrown away after only a few minutes of our use.

We've had local dignitaries, the press, LiveHereLoveHere, a beach cleaning organisation, and Belfast Wildlife here with us.

Heading out first thing tomorrow for Arran.

Common Dolphins riding the Bow

Hi Everyone.
Writing this from Belfast after a 55 hour sail from Cardiff.  We had a bit of an adventure leaving Cardiff; no sooner out of the barrage lock and the engine over heating alarm was going off.  Took 6 hours for Captain Diane (sing to Captain Birdseye) and her first mate 24 year old Holly (little Miss Sunshine) to discover, first, a piece of plastic in the water cooling inlet pipe - ha Plastic - but then an eel totally wedged into the pipe.  This was a bit of a spooky moment as we'd been told a story the previous evening (story telling event) about an eel - we should have known.

Anyway we finally got off.  The sail was easier than round Lands' End because the wind was behind us however, it was still pretty rocking and rolling.  We did manage to do a trawl, but even that was difficult because we can't trawl within 20 minutes of seeing sea mammals, and we had a pod of common dolphins riding our bow wave on and off for hours - absolutely beautiful.  We also saw two seals, and loads of gannets and fulmars.  Some of us were a bit queasy but not debilitated like before.  I love taking the helm and hauling up the main sail, and just sitting watching the horizon and the waves.  I've not had a night shift yet when I've seen the stars although had a couple of lovely sunsets and a sunrise.  My night shifts have been rainy - lots of chat, tea and snacks with my watch team to while away the hours.

Daytime, we are split into pairs and have specific jobs to do on a rota system: cooking and clearing up (breakfast, lunch and dinner), the heads (toilets), navigation (involves hourly posts in ships log),  bilges (checking and pumping out) and engineer (checking mechanical stuff).  Then there's science to do, two different trawls (for macro and micro plastics), an air filter system, water stats, water filtration, sediment samples, spotting marine litter (tracking on GPS), spotting wildlife (tracking on GPS) and collecting mussels.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Arran, which should only take the day.  On Arran 8 of the team will be leaving and we will be joined by 8 more.